5 ms·

At risk of summoning an army of vibe coders, I wish map apps were more configurable and let you set "I'm happy to walk 20 min" or "someone can drive me a few mi

At risk of summoning an army of vibe coders, I wish map apps were more configurable and let you set "I'm happy to walk 20 min" or "someone can drive me a few miles and drop me off"

eli 2mo ago
It's not exactly what you asked for, but the public transit and multimodal focused apps are generally much better at this stuff. I like CityMapper and Transit. Neither is good for turn-by-turn directions, but both are good for "what are all the different ways to get there"
jazzyjackson 2mo ago
Not to mention “public transit but with a waypoint” which is too advanced for all mobile apps
- smcin 2mo ago
  What do you mean "but with a waypoint”? What happens if you route on public transit without a waypoint? Do you mean indirect spaghetti routings that seem ok to Google?
  - jazzyjackson 2mo ago
    No I like to find out how long it will take to go to one place and then another. With driving selected you can add arbitrary waypoints. For public transit you can have one destination only. I suppose it makes sense because they like to tell you via schedule how long it will take, and the map would need to know how long you will stay each location. But when I’m looking I’m just checking if a route exists, not which time I will take the train.
    - smcin 2mo ago
      Ok so a basic version of adding a second stop, on a route using public transit.
pavel_lishin 2mo ago
I wish I could add certain streets and routes to some sort of block list. There are certain roads I would be willing to spend an extra 10-30 minutes driving to avoid. (And certainly would not get on them on a bike!)
- smcin 2mo ago
  Conversely, as a cyclist, Google Maps infuriatingly will refuse to route you along an expressway, even when it's the shortest or only route without a huge detour. e.g. Lawrence Expressway where it crosses in an underpass under Central Expressway. This is a long-standing known issue with Google Maps routings for cycling mode.
leksak 2mo ago
The public transport app in my city almost does this well, it even affords cycling. But it isn’t quite as nuanced as one would like.
ShinyLeftPad 2mo ago
Here's a tip if you use google maps: if you want to get from A to B but can walk a bit, just pick a point C between them then look up directions to and from point C separately. Works great
- dullcrisp 2mo ago
  Pro-tip: if you want to get from A to B without using Google Maps, simply pick a sequence of intermediate points A = a_0, …, a_n = B where each pair of consecutive points aren’t too far apart, and then travel to each point in turn.
urineaut 2mo ago
Depending on where you live there is Transitous: https://transitous.org/ https://transitous.org/ It's a FOSS public transport routing engine. In the options you can select what type and how much time you want to spend on the first and last "mile" (even something like bike/scooter sharing). It uses open data or data connectors for the routing. And being FOSS, if there is no data connector yet for you region, it may be interesting to contribute one if there is a sane way to query the data from the local transport compan(y|ies).
- wolvoleo 2mo ago
  Yeah that's the main issue usually. Google has live data, otherwise I'd use something else
smelendez 2mo ago
Yeah, this is the thing you can ask an LLM and get a confident and verbose wrong answer.
ButlerianJihad 2mo ago
Google Maps has an “Ask Maps” feature powered by Gemini, and I asked it for a route excluding two of the most direct roads. Note: I have disabled Smart Features and there is no sharing into Gemini from Gmail, Drive, Docs, etc. Ask Maps summarized my prompt, gave a correct answer, and displayed a graphic of the route as well.
kylecazar 2mo ago
While we're asking for navigation features, I desperately want a "chill" toggle. I drive around the NY metropolitan area a lot. No, I don't want to take the route that saves a few minutes if it involves merging onto I95 at rush hour with 300 feet to cross 4 lanes of traffic for the next exit.
- shawkinaw 2mo ago
  Let me add to that: how about “no uncontrolled left turns onto busy streets” mode? Google Maps does this to me all the time and it’s infuriating, it’s up to me to avoid it.
  - phist_mcgee 2mo ago
    For us in Australia it's uncontrolled right turns, and it is absolutely infuriating that many journeys would be temporally shorter if the route waited longer for the turn at an intersection with lights. Google Maps would almost surely have this data. It's been like this for at least a decade.
- deepsun 2mo ago
  But "chill" feature is unavailable in New York city unfortunately.
- _carbyau_ 2mo ago
  I vote for a "lock it in" feature for motorbike riding. I set up the route, clip the phone onto the quadlock mount, ride down the street and it auto changes the route because of something motorbikes don't care about. Or it rains and that counts as pressing buttons. And now I am riding and with gloves on so I can't fix it. Just "do what I told you" and don't mess with it.
  - mc3301 2mo ago
    Yeah, I used to ride with a little speaker on one side of my helmet on the inside... nothing infuriated quite like a leisurely fun ride with the audio constantly telling me to make a u-turn or whatever because it found a route that was 57 minutes instead of 59. I'd love a "I saw your suggestions, I selected one of them, don't give me any more suggestions" feature. This was on google maps. As for detecting rain, that'd be a whole other algorithm.
grishka 2mo ago
I wish I could specify that I walk faster than most people.
rafram 2mo ago
Transit (transitapp.com) supports setting your walking speed, which is essentially this by proxy, and it's a great app.
- smcin 2mo ago
  Yes. Transit App allows you configure both your walking and cycling speeds. Combine that with selecting which other methods you allow, and you get lots of options, and more accurate ETAs.
greesil 2mo ago
I don't think they give a flying fart a about their users anymore, but yes.
chrismorgan 2mo ago
I was thinking to myself “… doesn’t it have that?” then I remembered I was thinking of the Public Transport Victoria journey planner.
decimalenough 2mo ago
This already exists: in "Trip options", you can toggle between "Best route", "Fewer transfers", and "Less walking", as well as allow/block "Ride services" like Uber as a transport option. How well these options work is another question, but "Fewer transfers" does seem to allow more walking. And of course you can straight up ask for walking directions instead.
- centur 2mo ago
  Was about to write the same - those options do exist already. It works quite well in my experience. Although quality may depend on how well a specific city mapped out. Melbourne for example have options for accessibility (City consuls pays for mapping accessibility scores\options and I guess those details help to plan in maps and just generally a good city benchmark). Preferred and connecting modes works well too - one can specify if ride service or drive is not an option or bus is meh. One thing I wish to have there is 2-3 presets of these options so I can quickly switch between combinations of - "get there fast", "get on specific time", "get with my most comfortable preferences". It's all there, just switching it every time is a bit of annoying.
Elucalidavah 2mo ago
You probably don't even need any vibe coding for this, only vibe configuring some OSRM profiles.

At risk of summoning an army of vibe coders, I wish map apps were more configurable and let you set "I'm happy to walk 20 min" or "someone can drive me a few miles and drop me off"

eli 2mo ago

It's not exactly what you asked for, but the public transit and multimodal focused apps are generally much better at this stuff. I like CityMapper and Transit. Neither is good for turn-by-turn directions, but both are good for "what are all the different ways to get there"

jazzyjackson 2mo ago

Not to mention “public transit but with a waypoint” which is too advanced for all mobile apps

smcin 2mo ago
What do you mean "but with a waypoint”? What happens if you route on public transit without a waypoint? Do you mean indirect spaghetti routings that seem ok to Google?
- jazzyjackson 2mo ago
  No I like to find out how long it will take to go to one place and then another. With driving selected you can add arbitrary waypoints. For public transit you can have one destination only. I suppose it makes sense because they like to tell you via schedule how long it will take, and the map would need to know how long you will stay each location. But when I’m looking I’m just checking if a route exists, not which time I will take the train.
  - smcin 2mo ago
    Ok so a basic version of adding a second stop, on a route using public transit.

pavel_lishin 2mo ago

I wish I could add certain streets and routes to some sort of block list. There are certain roads I would be willing to spend an extra 10-30 minutes driving to avoid. (And certainly would not get on them on a bike!)

smcin 2mo ago
Conversely, as a cyclist, Google Maps infuriatingly will refuse to route you along an expressway, even when it's the shortest or only route without a huge detour. e.g. Lawrence Expressway where it crosses in an underpass under Central Expressway. This is a long-standing known issue with Google Maps routings for cycling mode.

leksak 2mo ago

The public transport app in my city almost does this well, it even affords cycling. But it isn’t quite as nuanced as one would like.

ShinyLeftPad 2mo ago

Here's a tip if you use google maps: if you want to get from A to B but can walk a bit, just pick a point C between them then look up directions to and from point C separately. Works great

dullcrisp 2mo ago
Pro-tip: if you want to get from A to B without using Google Maps, simply pick a sequence of intermediate points A = a_0, …, a_n = B where each pair of consecutive points aren’t too far apart, and then travel to each point in turn.

urineaut 2mo ago

Depending on where you live there is Transitous: https://transitous.org/ https://transitous.org/ It's a FOSS public transport routing engine. In the options you can select what type and how much time you want to spend on the first and last "mile" (even something like bike/scooter sharing). It uses open data or data connectors for the routing. And being FOSS, if there is no data connector yet for you region, it may be interesting to contribute one if there is a sane way to query the data from the local transport compan(y|ies).

wolvoleo 2mo ago
Yeah that's the main issue usually. Google has live data, otherwise I'd use something else

smelendez 2mo ago

Yeah, this is the thing you can ask an LLM and get a confident and verbose wrong answer.

ButlerianJihad 2mo ago

Google Maps has an “Ask Maps” feature powered by Gemini, and I asked it for a route excluding two of the most direct roads. Note: I have disabled Smart Features and there is no sharing into Gemini from Gmail, Drive, Docs, etc. Ask Maps summarized my prompt, gave a correct answer, and displayed a graphic of the route as well.

kylecazar 2mo ago

While we're asking for navigation features, I desperately want a "chill" toggle. I drive around the NY metropolitan area a lot. No, I don't want to take the route that saves a few minutes if it involves merging onto I95 at rush hour with 300 feet to cross 4 lanes of traffic for the next exit.

shawkinaw 2mo ago
Let me add to that: how about “no uncontrolled left turns onto busy streets” mode? Google Maps does this to me all the time and it’s infuriating, it’s up to me to avoid it.
- phist_mcgee 2mo ago
  For us in Australia it's uncontrolled right turns, and it is absolutely infuriating that many journeys would be temporally shorter if the route waited longer for the turn at an intersection with lights. Google Maps would almost surely have this data. It's been like this for at least a decade.
deepsun 2mo ago
But "chill" feature is unavailable in New York city unfortunately.
_carbyau_ 2mo ago
I vote for a "lock it in" feature for motorbike riding. I set up the route, clip the phone onto the quadlock mount, ride down the street and it auto changes the route because of something motorbikes don't care about. Or it rains and that counts as pressing buttons. And now I am riding and with gloves on so I can't fix it. Just "do what I told you" and don't mess with it.
- mc3301 2mo ago
  Yeah, I used to ride with a little speaker on one side of my helmet on the inside... nothing infuriated quite like a leisurely fun ride with the audio constantly telling me to make a u-turn or whatever because it found a route that was 57 minutes instead of 59. I'd love a "I saw your suggestions, I selected one of them, don't give me any more suggestions" feature. This was on google maps. As for detecting rain, that'd be a whole other algorithm.

grishka 2mo ago

I wish I could specify that I walk faster than most people.

rafram 2mo ago

Transit (transitapp.com) supports setting your walking speed, which is essentially this by proxy, and it's a great app.

smcin 2mo ago
Yes. Transit App allows you configure both your walking and cycling speeds. Combine that with selecting which other methods you allow, and you get lots of options, and more accurate ETAs.

greesil 2mo ago

I don't think they give a flying fart a about their users anymore, but yes.

chrismorgan 2mo ago

I was thinking to myself “… doesn’t it have that?” then I remembered I was thinking of the Public Transport Victoria journey planner.

decimalenough 2mo ago

This already exists: in "Trip options", you can toggle between "Best route", "Fewer transfers", and "Less walking", as well as allow/block "Ride services" like Uber as a transport option. How well these options work is another question, but "Fewer transfers" does seem to allow more walking. And of course you can straight up ask for walking directions instead.

centur 2mo ago
Was about to write the same - those options do exist already. It works quite well in my experience. Although quality may depend on how well a specific city mapped out. Melbourne for example have options for accessibility (City consuls pays for mapping accessibility scores\options and I guess those details help to plan in maps and just generally a good city benchmark). Preferred and connecting modes works well too - one can specify if ride service or drive is not an option or bus is meh. One thing I wish to have there is 2-3 presets of these options so I can quickly switch between combinations of - "get there fast", "get on specific time", "get with my most comfortable preferences". It's all there, just switching it every time is a bit of annoying.

Elucalidavah 2mo ago

You probably don't even need any vibe coding for this, only vibe configuring some OSRM profiles.